Tokina 11-16 2.8 Canon Overview

I grew intolerant of the limitations shooting with the Canon 10-22 lens especially as it was useless in anything low-light. While image quality was very good, if you can’t focus or it was simply 2-3 stops too slow you might as well leave it in the bag. So I sold it and bought the Tokina 11-16 to give it a shot. It was less new than I got for the Canon used and I am VERY impressed with it optically. Better overall quality than the Canon but with some mechanical drawbacks. First, it’s not an ultrasonic motor. But it IS fast and accurate and functions perfectly. Second, the AF/MF switch, while a nice normal switch on most lenses is the horrible push/pull ring design used on a select few designed by morons why have never shot a frame in their lives. It’s bad. It’s clunky, it wobbles and you can’t actuate it without completely jarring the camera, it takes two hands firmly. Fortunately I don’t manual focus my ultrawides so it’s going to live in AF position. The focus ring itself while it has a clutch, does not MF in AF mode, so the ring just spins freely. Third, and this is relatively minor, the zoom range is very small. You wouldn’t think 10-22 would be that much different than 11-16, but it certainly is. Again fortunately, though, I rarely use these at anything but the widest setting so that’s fine. Now the pluses – GREAT optical quality and FAR better distortion control than the canon. Straight lines remain straight even at the corners while tilted! Contrast, flair, CA…just fine. It also comes with a hood, unlike the Canon which was $40 extra, plus it has the Nikon style (better IMO) lenscap for a more secure fit. The lens body itself is rock solid, just like any Canon L lens, and the fit tot he camera body is also tight and secure, better than any of my Canon units. Overall, it’s a big thumbs up so far from me!